MCU fans are eagerly awaiting the introduction of Sentry, the super powered anti-hero who could very well appear in the team-up movie Thunderbolts before he gets his very own series.
According to Thunderbolt News, a Marvel Studios Sentry series is reportedly planned after his debut in the Thunderbolts movie set for July 26, 2024. The MCU has a pattern of introducing characters in projects before they break out on their own, and that could happen for Sentry, Marvel’s strongest hero. Sentry is an omega-level threat who’s gone up against the likes of Dr. Doom and held his own, but historically he hasn’t been given much respect. Maybe things turn around for the Golden Guardian of Good.
Sentry origin story
Robert Reynolds/Sentry is canonically one of the earliest superheroes in Marvel comics, preceding even the Fantastic Four. Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee created the character, and he’s an apparent analog for DC’s Superman, but he’s still a valiant hero in his own right.
In 1947, Canada’s Department K and the United States’ Operation: Rebirth merged to form Project Sentry. The intent behind this union was to take the super soldier serum that was used to make Steve Rogers Captain America to the next level, but the Cold War fragmented the operation and multiple sub-projects emerged. As a result, it was hard to keep track of all the data and resources throughout the years and Project Sentry’s lab work found its way to an unnamed professor who experimented with the formula and perfected it.
Robert was a troublemaker as a teenager and addicted to meth. He snuck into the professor’s lab and consumed the Golden Sentry Serum which gave him the power of a million exploding suns. It created an explosion and he grew in strength, but it incidentally killed his partner and the security guards. Robert asked the professor to create more of the serum and later Project Sentry wants to run tests on him, but he ultimately chooses instead to go out into the world and become the superhero Sentry after getting into a fight with school bullies.
Sentry #1 presents Robert Reynolds in the modern age as a middle-aged man who has forgotten that he was a superhero. He has flashbacks of his historic adventures as a superhero who fought alongside other heroes to defeat the Void, a dark entity that embodies negativity. The Void tells Robert that he’s coming back, and this pushes Robert into a state of madness that pushes his wife away from him and he becomes the Sentry again. When he does the Void changes the story and tells him he’s not a hero, leading Robert to question what’s real and what’s not.
To make matters more confusing, the other heroes don’t remember the Sentry, including Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, but when Robert says the word “unicorn” during their conversation, something clicks. It leads Reed to investigate a unicorn statue that was given to him for being Robert’s best man at his wedding. It was real after all and Robert fully accepts his superhero identity and prepares to battle the Void.
Sentry and Thunderbolts
Valentina Allegra De Fontaine (Julia Louis Dreyfus) has been assembling a team of anti-heroes from across the MCU for the purpose of putting together a team that can get things done that the Avengers can’t. In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, powerful nations intend to attain the country’s Vibranium. Valentina is the director of the CIA and the U.S. government steals MIT student Riri Williams’ (Dominique Thorne) vibration-finding radar, leading many to believe that she (and therefore the Thunderbolts) will want to complete this mission. The question is how does Sentry fit into all of this?
Sentry was born from a top-secret program and as Valentina’s actions confirm, there are governmental parties working in the shadows to address this superhero situation. Project Sentry could be something she’s aware of for the purpose of the United States having its own superpowered hero on call. Valentina is the type of character who has plans on top of plans and no one should underestimate the lengths she’d go to complete an objective.
If Marvel Studios decides to remain more faithful to the comics, it would make sense for Sentry to have his own solo project. Robert Reynolds’ story is complex and deeply personal, and it would need time to explore the heavier themes, especially if it includes Sentry: Reborn by Jenkins and John Romita Jr., where Robert is diagnosed with schizophrenia. It would be essential to also nail down how Sentry stands on his own and that he’s not just a Superman clone. This would require a lot of work to pull off successfully, but it is possible.